When I was in school, teachers sent report cards home with the students to be signed by their parents.  I suppose this was supposed to serve as evidence that the parents had been sufficiently informed as to how well (or not so well) their child was doing in school.  I always enjoyed the beginning of a new grade reporting period.   I could forget the mistakes of the past and start fresh with a clean slate.

God’s forgiveness is like that!  It enables us to make a fresh start; to forget the mistakes of our past and start anew with a clean slate.   The writer of the book of Hebrews wrote of God’s willingness to forgive. “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 8:12). Today I will let go of the past, ask God to forgive me of my sins and look forward to making a fresh start.